On The Way Down
by xTroubleNGlitter
Summary: I almost fell right through...but I held on to you. This is almost 9 years after the sad ending of 'Forgotten Portrait' with Garry. Ib is a college student ready to graduate with her art major. But her graduation project sends her in a deja vu spiral when she ends up back where she was 9 years ago in Guertena's nightmare. It's a race to save herself and find what she's been missing
1. Prologue Enter Ib

**Author's Note:** Alright you guys, I am delivering some AMAZING news. I'm gonna be slowing down on the wrestling writing and getting into stuff I'm more interested is for the Ib video game, one of the hottest games out there right now. This is from the ending story of 'Forgotten Portrait', one of the saddest endings to the game.

This also takes place nearly 10 years after the game. Ib has developed her love for art since the day she was at the museum and throughout the years, it has only grown to the point where she is leaving college with art degree and hoping to teach at her local university.

I'm trying to keep Ib in a sort of same character, the quiet girl like from the game, but more mature.

Please review, I REALLY want to keep writing this since the first chapter has turned out so great. :)

* * *

"As you can tell by not only the concept, but by the rigorous effort placed into this picture, 'Casting Fisherman' is a piece that leaves not only built stress in the mind, but a sense of understanding when you see the joint frustration between the sea and the fisherman. Please remember, on page two hundred thirty nine there is a short excerpt I want you all to read and understand just a little bit more."  
As Ib jotted down a few notes in her notebook, a smile formed at her poor handwriting. It wasn't graceful, in fact far from it, but she loved that it had a certain artistic appeal, at least in her eyes.

"Now remember, all of you," with a sigh the professor sat on his desk and turned off the projection screen, the picture of 'Casting Fisherman' fading out shortly afterward. "Graduation is quickly approaching, and that means you all will be going into the real world. I know that this course wasn't what you all expected, but I appreciate you sticking around for such a difficult curriculum; college is all about trying new things out right?" Some students nodded in agreement, many frowned in disappointment, and others smiled at the idea that they were finally moving into the real world. "I wanted to tell you all how PROUD I am of each and every one of you. But, I am still waiting on a couple final assignments. Alessandra, Ib, I am waiting on your 4000 word essays and a coverage of one art piece from a local gallery with a photograph collage dedicated to it. Any progress girls?"

Pushing her caramel hair back, Alessandra pulled her locks into a tight bun and opened her note book to glance over notes. "The collage portion is done, I am just getting a final look over the essay from a few peers and friends. You did give us QUITE an assignment sir." Students chuckled as she shut the book and pushed it into her black satchel: a warm smile was on her face when Alessandra looked around.

"Well, Ib? Progress?"

Ib rubbed her neck; she could feel strands of hair dancing over her hand as she tilted her head. "Progress is good so far. It will be done, I can promise that." Her voice tired and quiet;she was still as shy as she was since childhood. She wasn't outspoken like the rest of the girls, jumping to work with others or even interact. Ib was just...Ib.

Nodding, the professor rolled up his sleeve, eyeing his watch carefully. "Alright, I'm gonna dismiss you all early today. A chance to maybe wrap up your assignments girls. Have a nice weekend and I'll see you all Monday." Ib picked up her bag and jogged out of the classroom, down the stairs, before finally making her way out into the warm spring air.

It was nice out; birds chirping and the sky was slightly cloudy. Today was a nice day for what she thought would have been a much hotter day. Walking past groups of students, she passed the gates and reached into her bag to pull out a yellow candy. She popped the candy into her mouth before sitting down at the bus stop.

Playing with the wrapper, Ib rubbed it against her fingers, picking up the slight lemon scent off it. Tearing it on each side she twisted it about, somewhat mesmerized at the creases in the paper.

Ever since she was little and had gone to museums, she had grown to be fascinated with art and the details in the world. Whatever was out there, she loved to see and try to understand. Ever since her first trip to an art museum when she was nine, Ib grew to love art more and more throughout the years. Her favorite artist? If you could ask anyone that knew the girl, they'd tell you without ANY hesitation, Guertena. While she enjoyed his sculptures, she had been studying his paintings for quite a bit, and she loved certain paintings more than others. One being The Red Lady, a beautiful, surreal woman in red. Her favorite by far, though, was a painting entitled 'Forgotten Portrait.'

Ib had grown up seeing that portrait every time she went into the museum, upset when it had circulated to other museums until it returned home to the local gallery. Guertena had become so popular amongst the patrons, certain paintings had been bought in a benefit, including that one.

She would spent days staring at it, writing notes about it, even trying to sketch it out. Her mind revolved around the man in the portrait. He was beautiful to her, and she grew upset when people passed it by without a glance.

Some would call her obsessed, and Ib believed it.

* * *

Sitting on the bench Ib leaned back, her arm rested on the top of the bench. She undid the red ribbon in her hair and tied it around her bag strap, leaving it so it could match the red rose key chain already hanging there. No one had arrived at the bus station yet, and for quite a few minutes she enjoyed the silence. After all, there was a nice breeze, the temperature out was perfect, and she had just had an overall great day. Flipping her long locks back, Ib smiled as the bus slowly pulled around the corner, inching its way to her. Standing up she grabbed her bag, pulling some change out from a front pocket as the doors opened to let her on.

Leaping up onto the second step she dropped the change in before she moved to the middle of the bus, finding an open seat she sat down. Pulling her bag onto her lap she smiled, sinking down to rest her head on the window. Closing her eyes she continued to think about her final project. All her other classes were a lock in to pass, except Art History. As her major, it required so much more focus and work than what she had expected, but every time the going got tough she'd make her way to the museum, buckle down, and get the work done. The one thing she always did was go back to was "Sleeping Man." Something about it just mesmerized her whenever she looked at him. His hair was almost a silky silver, and his eyes were closed, seeming to sleep. He was decorated with blue roses. Ib wanted to speak to him, to ask for answers to questions like why did he look so hurt and what was wrong?

When her head smacked against the window lightly, she glanced up to see her apartment complex. Rubbing her fiery eyes she stood up, pulled her bag over her shoulder and jogged down the aisle. She sprung off the steps, lips curved into a smile as she continued jogging over to the apartment's steel set of steps, running up two flights to her door. She pulled out a rose keychain she unlocked the door to make her way in, relaxing at the dark room and the new quieter atmosphere. Turning on a lamp she fell down on her couch and pulled out her books and notebooks. She glanced over her notes again and moved them around before she pulled out her portfolio from underneath her small television. Ib opened a rather large folder to reveal a plentiful of photos and roses painted blue JUST for her project. Smiling at it she sat it on the couch next to her before she grabbed her laptop, turning it on to continue writing her essay. Looking over at the collage again she glanced over every photo, finding one that shocked her.

The Sleeping Man's eyes were open, and they were a beautiful blue.

Glancing back at her laptop it had reverted back to her home screen, a cute background of bunnies decorating the screen. Her attention was still drawn to the picture; she tried to shake it off and forced all of her mind onto the open document. Eight pages, three thousand, two hundred and fifty-eight words completed. Curling up she continued to write, her hands almost moving with minds of their own, her mind spilling out into a plethora of words not only describing her feelings, but to get her point across.

She was in love with the painting. It was the one she could remember since her first visit to the museum, and without it, she wouldn't be in love with art.

After hours of working on her essay, Ib had glanced at the clock, still in her clothes it was nearly midnight and her headache was pure proof of all the time gone into this project. Dragging her bag over from the floor she popped a candy into her mouth, rolling it around with her tongue while she thought of a good last wrap up paragraph. Ib wanted something more on pure emotion than just facts and a simple answer. She was never that...plain.

Pushing with the rest of her energy, she finally had it completed at two in the morning, leaving her with her head tilted back, bleary eyes trying -but failing- to focus on the screen in front of her. Ib had never worked that hard before to complete something so difficult. While sleep was her first ringer, she continued to cheer herself on in the back of her mind, patting herself on the back while she did so.

With a large groan she saved the document and shut the computer down, sliding it onto the table. She tidied up the final pieces of her collage and slid it onto the table before falling back on the couch. With a large body pillow she had left from the morning, she rolled onto her side and fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

Light trickled through her blinds above the television; as Ib's head had turned just enough to meet with an unwelcomed visitor as her brow began to furrow, eyes squinted against the bright light. Mumbling to herself she sat up, feeling hair splayed over her face and back from the humidity taking over her apartment. Reaching for the air conditioner remote she hit the power button, a smile moving over her lips as the sound of air conditioning took over, cooling the flat in a matter of minutes.

Standing up she stretched, her smile wide. As she walking over to the bathroom she pulled her shirt off to get a shower in before breakfast. Turning the water on in the bathroom she glanced at her reflection in the mirror and laughed at her frizzy hair and oily face thanks to no air on her the entire night. While she was in the shower, all she really could think of was graduation. Receiving her art degree, seeing her parents faces: It was all a perfect dream that was about to come true for her in just a month.

Getting out she wrapped a towel around her hair and slipped into a pair of shorts and tank top before going to make breakfast. While she was in the midst of making something to eat she had grabbed her planner, skimming through dates and upcoming events. All of her friends and classmates were going to the beach this time of year, going out with boyfriends and girlfriends, partying, and doing whatever they felt like.  
That kind of life just wasn't for Ib.

Once breakfast was made she had moved back over to the couch with her plate. Playing with the food around her plate she turned on her television, only to tune to the local news where she found herself in total shock.

_"You heard it here first folks: the local art museum will, after almost nine years, be retiring their Guertena exhibit in a local gala to celebrate the wonderful art and patrons that had made it possible to keep the gallery open for so long. Following graduation at the neighborhood art academy, the exhibit's works shall be donated to the college for classes and the hope of founding the next generation's artists in the history field."_

Ib dropped her plate to her lap as her eyes widened and shock took over her body in the short time it took her to hear the news.

Guertena's exhibit was going to her school? Where she was going to help out in the fall?

Tears brimming in her eyes she clapped, kicking her legs in the air of pure joy. Now she could be near her art and her passion for the rest of her life, it was really a dream come true for her. Picking up her plate she sat it on the table, a smile still on her face as she leaned back, closing her eyes at the idea that things were going to be even better.

If she could teach at the college...

...then it would complete perfection..

**_After note:_**This has been updated on August 12th thanks to Amy who is my editor. She was kind enough to assist me with editing when I didn't have a proper processor. Corrections will be made to chapter two as well!  
Thank you for reading!  
Leave a review, favorite, and follow!


	2. Nothing More than Normality

**Author's Note:** Alright, this is chapter two of 'On The Way Down.' The story is based off being an epilouge to 'Forgotten Portrait', one of the saddest endings in the video game Ib.

Thank you SO much for all the reviews already, you don't know how MUCH it means to me. I'm just starting to write more on here and I am happy that people are interested in this story 3 lots of love!

New preview picture picture from another brilliant artist. Go on DeviantArt for some of the best Ib, Garry, and Ib/Garry pictures out there.

Please enjoy, read, and review :)

* * *

Saturday had turned into a wonderful day of leisure for Ib, with finishing her final project and the news of Guertena's exhibit moving to the art academy, she was basically floating on cloud nine. With her collage now in front of her, she continued to add final simple details, trying to make sure that with what she turned in, she'd be a shoe in for helping in the fall semester.

The collage was a masterpiece of the strange mess that had been Guertena's work. Rose petals were torn up, painted and dripped with blue, surrounded by not only pictures of the portrait, but other simple embroderies matching it. To top it off, she had encased it in a bronze and painted gold frame, the glass giving it a true artist's touch. Holding the somewhate heavy frame up she smiled, it was a perfect mess.

Ib standing up with the final piece she brought it over to her large portfolio cover, sliding it in and buckling the cover closed she slid it over to sit in front of the closet doors with her class bag. Glancing it over one last time she turned on her heel and pulled her laptop out and turned it on to see the light slowly coming on. Still looking around she made her way over to her small dinning table, picking up her printer to bring over. Fiddling with the wires she had finally got them untangled and plugged in. In a matter of minutes her essay was printed. The paper was warm to her hands, and even if it was just the heat from the printer, she liked to believe that the paper was warm because it was filled with the light of her hard work.

Organizing the papers she stapeled them and sat the large report on the table before she slid it into a protective cover. Huffing at the somewhat heavy weight of a good 4000+ words of pages she put it in black bag, resting it next to her finished collage. Running her hands back through her hair she jumped at the phone ringing, shocking her out of her peaceful yet elated mind. Walking over she picked it up, checking the number before she even answered. If it was a classmate, she would have just left it, but seeing that it was her parents she quickly answered.

_"Good morning Ib! It's your mom and dad! Yes we were calling to check in since the last time we spoke you were having trouble with your final project!"_

Ib chuckling she shook her head, warm brown hair flying everywhere. "No, I just finished it last night."

_"...Well good! I'm glad you got that sorted out, your father and I and the rest of the family will be so excited to see you graduate! Who would have thought our little Ib would be growing up to work in the art profession! We are VERY proud of you!"_

"Thank you mom.."

_"Ib before you hang up and go about your Saturday, we called to ask if you were going to be going to the special event for Guertena? I think you would and of course we'd be going-"  
_

"Yes mother, I will be going, I think today or tomorrow I'll go to look around again before they change it."

_"Oh good dear! Well I'll let you get to it okay? Have a nice day dear."_

"Thank you mom." Ib hanging up she stood up straight, rubbing her eyes to get at least something awake. Before she even would start to get dressed, she began brewing a pot of coffee as she left to get dressed. Finding an off the shoulder thin red peasant blouse she slid it on, matching it with a pair of tan shorts that hugged her waist and thighs, needing something lighter and shorter for the hot day. Walking with a brush in hand she continued to brush out her hair out, tying a small red ribbon in her hair, separating her side bands from her straight hair.

A buzzer going off she slid back into the kitchen she took the pott of the maker, pouring a cup and adding as much creamer as she possibly could. Sitting at her dinning table she glanced down at something she had been working on.

It was called a milk puzzle.

All the pieces were white, and you were sheer brilliant to finish it. The pure white made it almost impossible to solve, and at the start she had been beyond frusturated at it. But now she had almost finished it, with only a small portion left to do. It was just the piece designs that got her head spinning, it was like the designs had been meant to be more sheer torture than the actual puzzle. Working with some of the pieces she grabbed the cigarette box sitting on the other side, still glaring at the pieces. With the stress of working in her curriculm, she had turned to smoking as a way to ease it.

At least to her it was better than drinking, doing pills, and gettin whacked out.  
Lighting the cigarette she twirled the piece in her hand around, trying to figure out where the shape belonged. It was an evil little puzzle to her, and with weeks etched in stone working on it she would have to stop again for a short bit, realizing she needed to put the date of the celebration of the exhibit in her calendar. After not even smoking half of it she put it out in the ash tray, following with a tall glass of water before standing up. Walking around the apartment she moved back into her bedroom, sitting on the bed to open her nightstand for her planner. It was sleek and black, the leather casing of it with 'Ib' in the bottom right corner in a gold cursive font. On the inside though it was filled with sketches, scribbled down phone numbers, information and dates. Glancing over all the past dates she penciled in the event coming up, smiling at that day's little asterik.

Time to visit the gallery.

* * *

After a rousing cup of coffee and breakfast, Ib had grabbed her purse and made her way out the door, ready to head to the museum yet again. While she was there, she usually spent at least one or two days a month shadowing a curator or at least someone with their profession locked in there. Making her way to her bus station she sat down, waving her hand over her neck, trying to find a breeze to keep her cool. Waiting around she pulled out a candy, popping it into her mouth while she slid a pair of sunglasses on, trying to block out whatever heat she could.

With a moan she glanced around, still annoyed at the sight of nothing but road and high fences. No bus, anywhere, at all. "I don't like this heat.." She cried out, still fanning herself. Seeming to be an eternity, a bus finally pulled up, Ib almost jumping for joy at the sight of it. Standing up she pulled her bag closer to her and climbed up, dropping change again into the machine before she sat down in her usual seat, watching out the window as the bus moved away from her home, into the city.

One thing she noticed though was that it had gotten cloudier as she got closer to the museum. The sun was now hidden, and the heat went away.

Ib rubbing her legs she knew that it would be cooler when she got outside now, and without a jacket she could almost feel the goosebumps ready to hit her. Approaching the museum she finally stood up when the bus came to a halt with doors opening. The busdriver giving her a smile she gave a small one in return before leaping off and making her way up the numerous sets of steps, passing familiar faces to make her way in.

Instead of going through the security, Ib had flashed a members pass and made her way into the back of the museum, dropping off her purse in a locker. Befores she closed it she grabbed a few pieces of candy, popping one into her mouth before she left the room to head into the museum.

Walking down the hall she was stopped by a curator, discussing plans for the big show that was about to happen. The two making their way back to the museum main hall they passed the welcome desk and climbed the stairs, Ib being pointed out to all the pictures going into reserve. Finally, they had made their way to Ib's favorite painting of the sleeping man.

"We talked and...we would like to donate this specifically to the class you'll be helping out at. I think it'd be just a small way to say thank you for all your help and support for not only this museum, but for Guertena's work." Ib covering her mouth she couldn't help but smile, realizing that her favorite painting would be with her every day. "I'm happy to see that that means 'thank you?'" Ib nodding he was about to continue when his pager went off. "Oh! I'm sorry! Apparently I need to go see another curator about some business with the upcoming event! Ib take a stroll around, you know what to do, we'll talk later okay?"

Ib nodding she waited for him to walk off before she turned back to the painting. Giving it a quick nod she continued strolling, glancing over all the paintings. Turning the corner she made her way to the large mural taking up the whole wall.

"Fabricated World.." She whispered, frowning at the large mural. She was never a fan of it, and always felt weird around it. Looking closer at it she stopped, trying to examine it closer. The texture of it, the mad style, it was her least favorite of Guertena's pieces. Something just was off about it, and the more she stared at it, the worse the presence came over her, but soon a feeling of an odd sense of silence washed over her.

...she didn't like it.

* * *

**After Note:** alright you guys I hope you enjoyed chapter two! This basically wraps up the pre-story. I didn't want to drag it out, but I didn't want it to be 'oh Ib's so perfect and cute and she just stumbles on the world and immediately finds Garry in 1-2 chapters', I don't like writing like that. I like a slow build up, a simmering effect.

So the next chapter the real suspsense and drama begins. I hope you'll like it. I'll start on it today and try to maybe have it up tomorrow ^.^ I love writing this!

Please review, favorite, and keep updated! Thanks for reading! Garry loves you very much!


	3. Lying Underneath Stormy Skies

**Author's Note:** Hey you guys this is Chapter three! I have never gotten as many reviews for any other story in the time I've been on than this story. I LOVE writing this, I want to keep you guys interested but I'm not going to be dragging it out. I also realized after looking through the game again that the title of Garry's portrait is 'Sleeping Man', which I had been calling 'Forgotten Portrait.'...I'm a complete idiot -_-

So far this has 17 reviews :'D it's freaking awesome! I love it so much so thank you!

This actually has hit the 700 views mark so thank you for making this my most popular piece in less than a week!

Make sure to fav, follow, review, and keep up! I'm dedicated to this so I'm fast paced!

We're still JUST getting this story started so don't think it's going to be a short and dash one, I want to give the Ib fandom something that extends, just like the game did. So lean back, adjust your screen, take your time, and enjoy :)  
Thank you for all the reviews, follows, favorites, and support you give! You make me want to continue writing!

One thing is that this isn't going to be a short quick story, I don't like those because it feels like I leave too much out there. This will be a tad bit of a longer story, I hope you can stick with me through it ^.^

Of course, saving the best for last, a huge thank you to Amy for being my proof reader and editor in this story and helping to fix my crappy writing!

* * *

A clock ticking, Ib struggled to open her eyes, finding herself suddenly exhausted from whatever had just happened. With deep breaths she remained silent while she collected herself from what was almost whip-lash. When she pushed her hair back she grabbed the ribbon around her wrist, tying it tightly to pull it into an up ponytail. While she had been working on

Ib finally opening her eyes a few minutes later she rubbed them, a loud yawn echoing through the hallway. While she sat against the wall she examined her posture, legs like spaghetti, shoulders hunched as she steadied herself against the wall, gaze raising itself slowly. Her energy felt like it had been sucked out of her, a tad lightheaded for whatever reason.

All she knew was it was silent, she was alone, and she was freezing.

As she stood up she stumbled, back still against the wall as she tried to hold herself up, deep breaths to help clear her mind she finally started to regain her composure, a large sigh of relief taking over the stress on her mind.  
That was short lived when she got to look around, worry askew at a nauseating sight.

No one was there.

There was no one, the lights dulled, no noise was made. Even if a pin dropped, she wouldn't hear that. When she finally tried to walk she halted, glancing around for some sign of life.

"Hello?" Ib's voice nothing more than a sharp whisper she moved right down the hall, her eyes going over few portraits and sculptures. Ib had finally found her way through the gallery when she passed the long hall of paintings, giving each one a glance over once before continuing.

In an instant though, something was off.

The woman backing up from the staircase she moved back to the line of pictures, her hands over her mouth at the oddity.

'Sleeping Man' was gone. It was replaced with a picture of a random man, upsetting her to the highest degree. If she wasn't anymore uncomfortable, now she was at her limit. The one thing she found solace in was gone...she was all alone.

That was until she turned to the window, seeing a dark figure against the mirror, pounding on the window mercilessly before vanishing off, the shadow nothing but a memory. Goosebumps rising on her skin farther than before she closed her eyes, with only hope to open them and see everyone around her again. Her eyes fluttering the reality crashed hard on her when the same dim lights overtook her vision. She was still alone in this museum. Stopping at the headless statues she whispered an old rhyme, trying to at least calm herself down. "Aka makigami...ao makigami...ki makigami..." While she repeated the rhyme in her head it did not help to any avail, leaving her just as upset as she was before. With a drained moan she took one last glance back at the portrait and statues before making her way down the steps, nearly tripping over quite a few. While it wasn't her adrenaline pumping, her mind was spinning, heart pumping a tad faster, and overall?  
She had the crap scared out of her now.

-x-X-x-

While lights continued to flicker she took a peak around from not only the staircase, but down to the receptionist desk. It was empty just like the rest of the building.

At the bottom however, was a strange doll. It was blue, with beady red eyes, mouth stitched and black wild hair. "What's wrong with you?" Picking the doll up her eyes widened, all she really could do was take in the full...creepy effect. "You are one weird little doll." She mumbled, her fingers pulling on the pink 'cloth' acting as a dress. Sitting it back down where she found it she adjusted the arms, trying to make sure it was exactly where it had been before.

When she had made her way down the rest of the stairs she turned to the second floor, darker than the first. A nervous smile on her face she glanced around the large hall before making her way in, still confused over what was really going on.

When she had moved past a few of the paintings hanging along the wall she stopped at a strange sight. Red footprints. From the look of it, they seemed like paint and Ib kept her fingers crossed it was just that.

Following the footprints to the corner they continued on down the hall, wrapping around the floor away from her frame of sight. Ib took a quick look over her shoulder before walking ahead, making sure that if there was something there that it wouldn't jump out at her.

With no one behind her she went forward, the cold air hitting her arms she crossed them, lights dimming almost by the hour.

When she had gotten to the end of the hallway she gave a small smile to the rose statue in front of her. It seemed to be collecting dust for the past few weeks, she'd have to tell someone that it needed to be touched up.

If she'd ever find someone to help her.

Standing still she seemed to lock up at a sound behind her, too close for comfort. Turning slowly she stopped half way, her eyes wide as her glance moved over into the dark trying to find an answer to her new fright.

With no one or nothing in sight she turned back, a sigh of relief letting her compose herself again.

Ib passing sculptures she noticed 'Abyss of the Deep', another of her personal least favorites. It had always been to dark for her taste. She always enjoyed a good intriguing piece, but that was just stepping over a line.

As she walked past it she kept some piece of attention on it before she made her way back to the main receptionist desk, passing it to go into the workers area. If she could just call someone she would be able to have not only a sense of relief but someone to help get her out.  
Cracking the door open to the lockers she crept to hers, turning the knob for the combination she opened it, frowning at the sight.

Her purse was not there. "Where..." A lump now in her throat she frowned, the realization hitting her that she had nothing but a few pieces of candy with her.

Her hand limp she let the locker door swing shut before she turned to walk out, picking up the pace when she made it to the large doors. Pushing on them she frowned, they wouldn't open, give budge let alone for her. Ib backed up at the realization that she was really trapped in the one place she thought she could find solace in. Turning to the windows her eyes widened at the sight of something read trickling down slowly, almost pulsing and screaming at her. _'YOU CAN'T LEAVE.'_

Ib's focus still to the window she backed up against the stairs as her heart continued to pulse through her body. Without any sense, she tripped over herself to hit the white marble, a whimper murmuring from the sharp pain in her lower back from the fall. Ib relaxing on the steps she covered her face, trying to calm down from her body starting to tremble.  
She hadn't been this scared before in her life and it wasn't an accomplishment she enjoyed.

Pushing up with her hands she slowly turned to climb back up the stairs as slowly as she possibly could now that she was aware of all her surroundings.

At the top she latched on to the rail, pulling herself up to only find the doll lying at the top of the stairs,almost as if it was staring through her. With a hand still on the rail she picked it up to study it for all that it could possibly be.

"You are one weird doll...how did you get up here?" Deciding to walk ahead she kept the doll with her she hugged it to her chest while she turned down the hall, noticing something she hadn't before.

There was paint on the ground. It was red. And it was trying to spell something to her.

Spelling out the words in her head she grimaced at the total collection of words.

_'R...E...T...U...R...N...H...O...M...E...I...B...'_

-x-X-x-

Time seemed to freeze after she started processing the bold statements. She had spent quite some time trying to understand what was going on since apparently nothing was making any sense anymore. Everything was topsy turvy, no one was around, and when she thought no one was around she discovered a creepy doll and a message that made no sense.

Against the wall her eyes moved over each letter, studying the sloppy, quick style. Someone had just done this while she was on the floor below. One thing that didn't make sense to her was in the complete silence she should have been able to hear something, even an echo of movement.

She heard absolutely nothing.

The doll still sitting comfortably in her arms she looked up to 'Fabricated World', finding something scribbled in blue paint. Squatting down she approached the words, touching the words at the end her fingertips smeared against the new wet paint. Cursing herself she read the words aloud, trying to grasp some sense in the new mess she was in.

"Ib it's time to return home to where you belong, come below, fall below, find your place again..what the hel-" Footsteps interrupting her shot up, chest heaving at an unfamiliar sound. In a quick sprint she made her way back to the staircase almost flying down in a hurry she stopped before the entrance into the lower floor gallery. Blue footprints.

When she followed the footprints she continued down the hall, lights dimming even darker on the first floor than she had remembered when she was down there not to long before. Turning the corner she walked down the long hall of paintings, looking in every direction in high caution for someone to jump out.

The footprints bringing her back around the floor she was lead to the 'Abyss of the Deep' sculpture she despised, her voice rumbling in her throat with a strange sound.

Path stopping at what was supposed to be water the rope had been removed, like someone had jumped in.

Dipping her shoe in she gasped, it was actually water. Almost springing back she had jumped at the water actually now dripping off her shoe. There was only one choice with no one in the building, strange messages, and reality almost bending around her.

Jump in.

Ib touching her foot back into the water she went to place a step, immediately crashing down through instead of gently finding her way in. In the water Ib couldn't see any light from above, but a set of steps down below her. The doll still tucked into her arm she kicked as hard and as fast as she possibly could, struggling with no chance to breath before she fell in.

She approached the steps in a matter of seconds, finding a strange entrance to go through. Entering it the water began to recede from it, allowing her to breath again. She couldn't make any sense of it but after walking down steps that had seemed to go on forever she fell at the bottom. The walls were a deep blue with paintings she had never seen before, an atmosphere that now had her questioning what was really going on.

It was almost like she was in a nightmare and she didn't know how the hell she was going to wake up.

She stood up to take a quick glance around, it was a small hallway, with a table sticking out at the far end. Her feet almost walking without her mind guiding her she found her way over, the halls oddly lite by some form of light. It was at least brighter than the museum.

It was a simple rose in a glass vase on a table. She had though noticed words along the walls. She couldn't make them out as they were askew all over the place, but after she had picked up the rose from the beautiful glass vase it was in she noticed a door behind the table.

An easy push allowing her to move the table she walked into the room, her brow furrowed at the sight of what she hoped was a woman with her eyes closed. Stepping closer she felt something underneath her foot, her glance down finding a small key. When she bent down she picked it up, looking up to fall back on her bottom, a small scream out from her both. The woman had opened her eyes, as wide as they could, pupils staring into her with a large burn. It wanted to see through her, frighten her, and it had accomplished it's goal.

Ib backed up to the door, hand gripped firmly on the knob as she opened it, falling back before the door slammed in front of her. The words before nothing more than illiterate scribbles, it was all simple now. Smeared in red paint, it was one word, over and over again.

Thief.

* * *

**After Note: **You guys are absolutely **_AWESOME! :D_**

_Why? Just cause!_

Bah gawd another chapter done lolz. Very happy with how this turned out. The grammar and everything is just smoother and crisper in a way. I've spent the day writing this and listening to old disney music since it's been raining ALL DAY. That's why this is a little bit longer, I also consider it as a thank you to you all so enjoy a little extra ;)

What were your favorite songs growing up? Like did you watch disney for its music videos when you were little? I know I was in love Britney Spears, the original Kidz Bop, all that shiz.

I'm just in a remembering mood for some weird reason don't mind me...

Oh! And for people wondering about the Japanese, I actually learned a lot from some weeaboos in my art class and they gave me a bunch of links before the school year ended of where to learn it from so I could join the anime club when I returned for the fall semester.

'Aka makigami...ao makigami...ki makigami...'is an old rhyme like eenie meenie minie moe that I heard a bunch and I wrote down. I need a new notebook ;^; there should be an ib notebook.  
ANYWAYS it means Red Scrolls, Blue Scrolls, Yellow Scrolls! Like the power rangers in the game! Don't be surprised with random Japanese phrases in the story okay? :D

I'll also be making an Ib mv for youtube :) it'll be more Ib/Garry but still! Let me know if you want to check it out!

Anyways y'all know what to do to keep this story going! Read, fav, follow, and of course review :)

Have a nice day!

xxx

Lindsey


	4. Eyes, Waiting, Watching, Anticipating

**Author's Note: **Hello lovely people!  
There was a large gape between chapter three and this chapter because a lot went on during the week. We renovated with the stairs and carpet, did a lot of cleaning, and by Tuesday we celebrated with a few friends over, and the past few days I've been interviewed for a documentary I am in. Alas, school will be starting soon so pace will slow down once more, I'm sorry :(

I want to THANK everyone for hitting the 2,000 views mark and basically 40 reviews. This is a milestone with my writing throughout everything I have done so thanks for making this so popular in the Ib community~

I was watching some of the older Spongebob episodes and my favorite HAS to be without a doubt the house party episode. I loved that one lol

I also got my tan for the summer, I look good lol. Can't wait to go back to school, I do cyber school but we do field trips every month and have meetings so we get the opportunity to communicate a lot! I missed my classes :p

But anyways, we shall get back to writing this story, I had almost a week of a break and I got the chance to think a lot of things over about what I'll write. I hope you'll enjoy it.

Remember to favorite, follow, and of COURSE review.

Thanks to Amy again as my editor, she helps me fix the errors that I don't pick up or my writing software can't tell. She's awesome!

I also apologize you waited over a WEEK for this. Why? Because my computer was being a complete assclown and school starts in 4 days :)

* * *

Ib stepped through the door, whether wind or some force, it slammed behind her in a hurry. When she turned to fiddle with the door knob her jaw lowered. While there had been a knob to turn on the other side, there was absolutely nothing where she was. She kicked on the door, her efforts to break it back open failing miserably.

"I don't get it..." Ib whispered, her mind trying to make sense of the recent occurrence. Apparently she could fall through a sculpture into water, walls could paint; and now knobs could be on one side of the door without the other side being able to open.

Her feet turned slowly, the rest of her body following with delay as she faced a dark hallway. Only a few lights every few yards guided the way. For all she knew there could be open pit falls, water, even paint; she didn't like what was going on and already wanted out of this hall.

Dead silence forced her ahead, her pace picking up as fear continued to rise. There was absolutely nothing. Her steps turned into a quicker pace only to turn into a flat out sprint to the end of the hall. The small swatch of light on the ground was still a distance away, and she had tired herself out after a few minutes. Ib fell to her knees, her hands wrapped tightly around the doll and rose in her grasp. While she had become a strong thinker in most situations, no class or assignments had prepared her for this.

_'100 point assignment: How to survive an insane gallery with nothing but a rose and one sad looking doll.'_

Somehow, the thought of sitting in class and being given that homework had made her feel better. She stood up to move forward, heart in her throat as she walked with one foot in front of the other. For as long as she could keep her head on she'd move ahead, otherwise she knew she would probably go insane. It was like already she was losing her mind, the place had been designed just to frighten her.

Her eyes tried to play tricks on her as she squinted, the sight of the light closer in her view. Ib continued on as the light came closer to her. With extreme stealth she slid down to her knees as she began to crawl over. Her eyes watched for movement underneath the door, some sign that there was something around. With nothing in her sight she reached up to find a knob or handle to open the door with.

Her fingertips moved along a curved handle before latching on, the metal ice cold to the touch. She pushed it open inch by inch, still unsure of what was near her. Her body pressed against the door she finally moved out of the long hallway and into a hall going across from her. It had been filled with portraits of women, all in different poses. As the grip on the doll tightened she stood up, her mind scattered at where to go. A bony finger pointed in both directions she found a way eventually to turn right. She rested her hand rested along the wall as she walked along, the wallpaper a different texture to the touch. Walls were in a dark emerald color, a light pattern decorating with a white roof and hardwood floors.

Ib dropped her hand to her side, her eyes catching the smudge from the wall as it hit her pants. With a muffled curse she realized she had nothing to clean it with. It was there, and her shorts were ruined. A groan escaped her lips as it echoed down the hallway in a matter of seconds.

Whatever it had done, wasn't good.

Something was ripping, and by the time she had glanced to see what it was she couldn't even process it. Hands had ripped through a painting as they stretched, flexing pale boned digits until colored sleeves appeared. The sleeves were almost a satin red, only rolling up her arms to reveal almost corroded skin and veins.

Her eyes widened when she turned back, body trembling at the disgusting sight. The glass had already shattered, frame broken off as the painting's hands had reached around to pull itself out, a large mop of chestnut locks fell through, the tresses matted and almost worn. Still frozen, Ib covered her mouth as the head creaked in the opposite direction and back, large red eyes locking into her crimson ones.

A lone squeal escaped her lips before the portrait flung itself off the wall and began dragging itself over to her, it's speed picking up as Ib sobbed, almost unable to move. She began to step away as hands continued to extend out of of pictures in the hall, leaving her to run. All Ib could really do was run, the sound of glass shattering continued to occur behind her as she sprinted on. If she looked back, she knew she was done. She didn't want to see the creatures after her, and it terrified her.

x-X-x

Stumbling around the corner she got a quick glance behind her, fear exploding out of her as tears escaped out of her eyes. There were over a dozen of them, all screaming and groaning as they dragged along the ground. The easels made a strange sound against the hardwood, sending goosebumps along Ib's skin before she took off in a sprint again. While she continued down the hall she felt her doll slip from her arms, a light glimmer of sweat over her skin. It continued to slide down the dark hall across from her. Ib crept down the dark hall, losing almost all of her sight as the creatures approached.

In the movies when someone seemed frozen in time the world seemed drop around them, almost tilting to disproportion itself for a sense of insanity. For her, that was the exact situation as she had continued to back up. She couldn't tell if she watched on in confusion, fear, wonder, or a mixture of all of them. Nothing made any sense anymore; it was all a mess of nonsense that continued to pull her senses away from reality.

Her foot however, had stopped when it fell down over the doll. Ib's glance moved down before she picked up the small play toy. Against the creak of the wood, one of the creatures had turned it's head in an inhumane angle, seeming a ninety degree twist as a wave of disgust blasted over Ib.

The young woman turned to be face to face with a large wooden door. Screams behind her quickly approached as she yanked on the door handle as she tried to get it open. The door wouldn't budge when she slammed her shoulder against it. It was like someone had held the door shut from the other side. She continued to yell out, hope extinguishing second by second until she finally got the knob to turn. She fell forward to slam the door behind her before she collapsed to the floor. When it had slammed she was could only hear a loud locking sound before she closed her eyes, fading out for a few minutes. Forehead rested to the cold ground she breathed slowly,her mind falling over worse than her body had. Nothing was right, fiction was now fact, and all sense of control was out the window.

The room was dim, lights on two sides from a separating wall. She crawled over to a large carpet before rolling onto her back, still focused to catch her breath. Head turned to the bookcase across from her, tall and dusted, probably not used for years.

From the ground she had stood up to hit the wall before she had made her way to the tall case. She scanned the books over, making out numerous titles. After she had gone through rows of uninteresting titles she found his works books.

Her body almost screwed to the ground she had pulled out one book after another as she went through each one. She had struck gold in an almost impossible situation to find anything good. This was a haven...no...it was more than that.

To Ib, it was heaven.

After hours has seemed to pass her by; Ib had found herself read through dozens of books. Pictures that she new before were understood more clearly and other pieces of art she had not known about were revealed to her. She had gone in the proper order etched along the spines of the old art guides to keep them organized. With almost all the books completed, she had gotten to the subsection of titles from Sa-Sm. The cover was worn like the rest, but the pages were a rich white, almost like powdered snow she had seen in the winter. She opened the book to move through the access information. Pages continued on in lengths of detail, some works of art even exceeded two pages.

Ib yawned as the dull lights continued to flicker, eyes already adjusted to the dark atmosphere since she had fell through to this hell she was in. Pages flipped until she had found her favorite, 'Sleeping Man.' But, something was horribly wrong with the page.

There was no information.

She flipped back between a couple of the other detailed excerpts, only to see the difference between 'Sleeping Man' and every other piece of art.  
"What is this..." She whispered as she tried to find a logical reason. Maybe whoever wrote these never got around to it?

While the thoughts rattled in her head she began to doze off as incoherency had become a close friend in the entire situation. Head against the wall she began to lean over when a light knock hit against the wooden door.

Her attention pulled her back to an awake form, glare locked into the continued knocking on the door. Eyes moved over the floor in hot pursuit of an item to hold. Books had been splayed about, the strange doll sitting near the door. All she saw that would be a strong hit was a heavy book propped at the divider of the wall. In an act of fear she crawled over to it and around the corner, hands gripped firmly around both sides ready to attack. After knocking continued for a few minutes the brunette continued to watch from the sliver of light pouring in from the door now cracked open.

X-X-x

Footsteps had creaked along the wood, a long shadow cast against the wall as she watched on. She couldn't make out much of the figure, the dark lite room not providing much comfort in her efforts to be ready to attack.

One thing about the person or thing was that they were a large mass. Her eyes made out two arms outstretched in long sleeves to pick up the small doll. "Hey...there you are..." The voice was a small warm whisper. "I've been looking everywhere for you. You wandered off pet." What was almost a sweet voice turned into a sharp cackle. "Now what is wrong? You don't just run off..." Ib watching she cringed as the doll made a laughing sound, heart pounding as it began to turn. It was alive, the doll was alive the entire time. Every time she had been talking to it, it listened.

The head of the doll had seemed to turn toward Ib's direction as she watched on. Something about was almost familiar, but still disturbed her beyond comprehension. Maybe it was the beady eyes, or the poor disposition. It was just so...creepy by itself; she couldn't even stomach the idea that there were more of them sitting around somewhere. Her body pushed back slowly, dead silence in the room as she cornered herself against the wall and bookcase. Book raised just below eye-level she watched as the figure stood up from its crouched position.  
"Now come along. Everyone missed you!"

"_Everyone?"_

The word rang through her ears as footsteps faded down the hall, the voice still singing something faded by muffles.

Ib took a deep breath to regain her senses before she even tried to get up. Her senses were rattled, her heart was swimming up her throat, and now she knew someone else was in the gallery with her. But who?

Before she could even process the thought in her head a shadow overtook her view, the lights once dim were now covered. Her head moved up slowly, body locked as the figure stood over her. She still couldn't make out the person's face as the darkness of the room finally weighed it's toll. Fingertips sweaty the book slipped down to her lap and off to the wooden floor. Pupils searched for an answer as her gaze moved miles a second, still not finding what she was looking for. Lips parting to speak no noise was made, throat twisted for words as she watched on. Their eyes were locked into each other even if she couldn't see theirs.

The person had dropped to their knees as they had moved closer to Ib. Inch by inch as Ib tried to corner herself more; she had almost curled herself up to a ball, knees pressed to her chest as she continued to shake. Her body frozen only her eyes had moved to see a hand reach out, the tips of their fingers cold as they pressed on her jawline. The doll dropped to the floor as the figure released it only to pull her up. Lights continued to flicker dim while she tried to read the person in front of her over.  
"Who...who are you?" Ib's voice choked and broken she continued to shake as the hand dropped to reach hers. They lifted her hand to highlight the red rose between them. "I asked before if someone..and the doll...what do you want?"

Leaning down a small curve on the person's lips was evident as they licked the upper lip, teeth gritted together almost in frustration. "I've waited almost ten years for this moment, for you, and I can help you."

She couldn't understand anything of it but the last words because they were all she wanted to hear right at that moment.

"_I can help you."_

* * *

**Author's Note: **I'M BAAAAAAACK! :D

As I said before, I am so sorry that this took so long. You wouldn't BELIEVE what came up between the last chapter and now. I have things to catch up on and whatnot but my first concern is catching up with this. It will take some time for editing and whatnot but I tried to get something accomplished with this. I hope you all saw this in your inboxes and went "OH MY GOD SHE'S NOT DEAD!" cause I'm not ;)

Thank you for sticking around, this story is picking up a lot of followers and I'm happy with the feedback this has been getting.

FINALLY we reach a major point in the story as the real suspense begins. Like I said, it's a slow simmer, and I want to do a lot with this.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.

The interaction at the end is actually inspired by an Evanescence song, one of my personal favorites. If you can figure it out based on reading this I'll give you a shout-out in the next chapter!

So anyways, you all should know the routine by now.

Follow, Favorite, and Review in that order! DOO ETTT or the doll will tell the ladies in red and blue to find you!

Lots of love!


	5. Bending Under Pressure

**Author's Note: **-Cue tearful joyful music- oh. my. glob. I missed this story so much, but I'm back! Today I was writing and this came up, it was a recovered file, and after some editing I decided that I needed to submit this. I haven't written in forever and yesterday I returned to with a new story and this needs to be worked on again. I need to read through it again and get the grasp of what I'm doing all over again. I might watch a few playthroughs and watch some mvs to get my gears going again! I still love Ib, and Garry, and Ib/Garry so the fire is NOT out in any way shape or form! I'll have more details after this chapter for y'all with updates and what not! I apologize this chapter is so short. I'll make it up to yall with a nice longer chapter coming up after this! I might do a flashback for Garry in his solitude in the Garry or I spending time at the museum!

So I hope you guys enjoy this little blurb, although it's short, I wanted to do at least something

Hope you enjoy this chapter, follow, favorite, and of course REVIEW! Tell me what you like, what questions you have, what you hope to see, and of course I'll always have a few questions that will just be out of blue!

* * *

If there could have been any real description of her emotions at that moment, it'd take thousands of thesauruses to find words to describe it. Something even relatively close wouldn't be enough to figure out what Ib had been thinking. She had still been sitting in this dim lite room, arms and legs limp as she watched the figure standing against the wall, face still not visible to her. They had waited for what seemed hours for Ib to stand up.  
She was too scared to move.

"Can you stand?" Ib's head tilted she glanced up the figure, unsure of how to respond. "Do you want me to help you?" A barrage of questions not helping the situation the figure had given up. With a sigh the person walked over to grab her wrists. Hands warm and limp compared to the cold strong grip she was lifted to her feet only to fall onto shoulder blades.

The two stood still for a few moments as Ib finally lifted her head to peer up. She could finally see a face. She stumbled in the dark only to back up against the wall from the smirk sent down to her.

It was him. The man from the painting. Everything about him was the same from the portrait. Thick, shinning almost silver hair. She never understood the shade, almost a pale lavender, but with black strips of hair at the top of his head he had a unique look. Eyes watched over her in an electric blue hue, almost too cold to be as warm as they were glancing over her.

"You're from the painting...I don't get it. You can't be..."

"I think the word you are looking for is 'real'?" He had rested a hand on her head, a small chuckle escaping his throat. "Sorry for scaring you like that Ib." What was once an almost insane expression when he spoke to the doll had turned into a warm smile. Though her eyes read fear as the realization clicked. He knew her name. She had never mentioned it to him; he knew her name without any hesitation.

What else had he known about her? Had he been watching her; and for how long at that? Her feet stumbled over each other, pacing around him before shooting off through the door. "IB!" He called, his voice only a small echo as she dashed along the corridor.

**x-0-x**

Her mind had told her to turn around but her instincts were screaming at her to keep running. For once logic lost the fight to human ambition. He apparently knew her yet she knew nothing about him, and now she was running for her life.

Ib couldn't make much of the situation. This was a person she never knew a day in her life other than what she saw in the picture and now he was real. She could feel his touch, see him more than the dimension of a portrait, and he could speak like any other human being.

While she ran she had passed numerous paintings she had never seen before. If this was an extension of Guertena's works, none of them made sense. She still heard the man behind her yelling far down the hall but she had made some distance between the two them.

"Obviously he's not a runner." She whispered as sweat touched her brow. While silenced had crept over her she continued to walk at a quick pace, head constantly cocked to glance behind her.

The walls and lights had gone darker, only the flickering of distant light blubs. Dust and cobwebs decorated the long hallway only to leave Ib to cover her nose. Now that she had gone farther into the older parts of the gallery she could smell the musk in the air. Unable to hold the pressure in her nose anymore she let out a loud sneeze. The second it escaped her body she covered her mouth. It had been so loud it had echoed down the corridor. In response she stepped back only to see a shadow cross across the wall. As it grew she was lost in her mind, unsure of what to do.  
Her heart was in her throat, palms sweaty, and eyes frantic for a place to hide. Before she could make a turn she froze as one of the women dragging across the floor had came into her vision at the end of the hall.

The longer they paced the hall, the uglier they became. What was beautiful chestnut locks had fallen out in clumps, skin turned from a milky tone to a deathly gray. Ib's body was frozen as the head turned on it's side and snapped over to lock with her. The creature planted it's hands into the ground and began it's crawl over. Her breath sharpened as it picked up it's speed. Behind her he had caught up just in time to grab her and begin running again.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" She screamed, trying to pull her wrist away from him as they darted down and around a corner. A wooden door in front of them he latched onto the door knob, his hands sweaty as he struggled with the grip. "Hurry up!" Ib screamed. Her breath was heavy and eyes covered in a mist as she peered over her shoulder.  
The entire museum was a mad house it seemed, or was she even in the museum anymore? This place seemed to be some sort of mental hospital or purgatory for the artistically insane. For all she knew she WAS in an asylum, or a dream, or was doped out. All that she understood was that the man from her dreams and her favorite painting stood in front of her, well, running with her, trying to escape death. Whatever these paintings, whatever these CREATURES were doing or who was controlling them, they were locked in on target and were after the two of them for all they had. What was a beautiful painting in the exhibit she had seen every morning had become a true nightmare for her. If she ever was able to return to a normal life she knew she would want to burn those paintings in the gallery.

The voice was a loud groan, and the creature was coming closer. Ib backed up toward the door and shoved him out of her way. "Come on...OPEN!" She screamed. Before she could even think of anything else she slammed her shoulder into the door. Her body huddled against Garry's he could feel her heartbeat on his chest. She was trembling, her frame latched on to his for support. The feelings in his mind were completely different than what had occurred so many years ago. He had a hunger to still protect her, but this time it was different. He could feel his blood boiling at a new reason. Garry didn't want to lose her again, he couldn't stand to see her ripped away when he had her literally in his arms again. He was fighting to keep what he lost, and he wasn't going down without a fight.

"It's coming closer!" He yelled. "I can get it open-"

Ib returned to the door, pressing her foot against it. She was doing anything in her power to have that door open and save herself from being eaten by a painting of all things. Her sneaker left prints on the door as she continued to kick it and at the door knob. It was like someone was holding a lock or something on the other side. If someone was there, they certainly didn't want them in there. Ib could just picture breaking the door open and seeing a doll in the middle of the room, only to turn around and this man murder her. The idea of it sent chills up her spine. But for some reason, she knew he wouldn't do that. There was something in his eyes, some weird sense of consolidation, a yearning that she felt when he was chasing after her. He wasn't...insane in a sense that he seemed like a mass murderer, she just knew he was insane.

And out of the whole museum, besides herself hopefully, he was the most sane thing she had seen yet, and probably would see. Garry began speaking again, only to cut her Amtrak train of thought off, stunning her for a short second.

"SHUT UP!" She replied, now at a breaking point as the painting came closer. When it wouldn't budge she backed away to only kick the door in. After she left numerous foot prints on the door the two froze at a loud groan from behind them.  
Their heads creaked back slowly, only to lock onto the sight of the creature staring at them. Ib covered her mouth to muffle a scream, the look of the once beautiful woman now nauseating. Her hair was gone, only strands remaining that seemed brittle. Her lips had cracked into almost a pale pink powder. Tired lines ripped over her face and lifeless eyes. She was barely more than bones, but her teeth remained sharp and fingertips ready to pounce.

"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" Cries echoed out down the hall before Ib slammed herself against the door. Finally it broke on the hinges and she fell through before she was followed and the door slammed shut.

**x-0-x**

Nails slid at the door, a fist pounding as the creature groaned and moaned, still torturing Ib's mind as she sat, paralyzed with fear. A painting, a creature, something demonic, had just tried to kill her. She was in a place where paintings were coming alive and trying to kill her. Garry moved around the room for a few short paces, his lungs filled with air and released through his diaphragm. Anything to calm him down sounded great and after years of sitting in the world he inhabited he hadn't ran from this paintings in a long time. While it scared him for Ib's sake, it gave him a fresh rush; and in a sense, it felt great to him.

Eyes searched the room for a place to fall to, finally finding one against the wall in the back of the room. Ib rested her head against the wall before tears slid down her cheeks. She had never tasted adrenaline like that, to almost lose her life in a matter of seconds. Shoulders shook, limbs numb as she kept her eyes closed. She couldn't find anything at that moment to keep her sanity, but she was trying. She wanted to be home, in school, somewhere that she knew and people she could talk to. The realization of those chances slipping away she let out a choked sob. Her forehead falling on her fist she continued to sob as sanity slowly slipped away.

Her hand was pulled from her forehead when she rested it back on the wall. She couldn't speak, ask questions, or figure anything else. Her mouth had so many questions, her brain had so many fears, and her her heart had so many truths; all wanting to scream out for him to gain some sort of knowledge to at least let her know what she was in for.  
Instead, he answered.

"You may not remember anything...it would make sense. But my name is Garry..." His thumbs brushed over the soft tops of her hands, letting her continue to remain hunched against the wall. "Nine years ago...there was an accident. I...was killed, here. For you." As the words clicked in her mind she opened her eyes to glance over. "Can we talk when you are conscious?" With a nod of agreement Ib had nodded off into a deep sleep before she hit the ground.  
"IB!" Her body hunched over he had pulled her back up. She had already drifted out into a deep sleep. The adrenaline apparently had ran off her and left her in broken sobs and a wrecked mess. Garry slid his jacket off and rested it on his lap, moving her to sleep comfortably. His hand moved over her hair and to her chin. His voice a mere whisper he uttered the only sentence he'd use until she would wake up.

"_I missed you."_

* * *

**Author's Note:** GUUUUUUUYS. I MISSED YOU 33 This chapter is short because it was saved in my computer for the longest time. Tomorrow I'll be writing a new chapter to add to this amazing story for my amazing reader. You guys have NO idea how sorry I am that it's been so long. If you knew the reasons you'd wonder why I haven't sold my soul to lifetime to make a movie from it!

Ib doesn't trust Garry at all, and her adrenaline was pumping in this entire situation. Things are about to get a whole lot more deeper and real as she wakes up and truly understands the situation she's in. There'll be a lot work to be done haha!

But I DID miss y'all! I missed the writing, reviews, talking to people, all that lovely jazz!

I hope this can at least satisfy your probably raging hunger for the Garry/Ib-ness. Woo!

Leave a review, follow, and fav ya pretty darlings!  
_**ALSO! **_If you're an older reader (maybe 16+) and like the walking dead (mainly Merle) please check out my new story "Eyes on Fire"! It's based on an OC and it's described in my bio. I'd love reviews and follows on that to, it's my latest project. I love Merle and Daryl (especially Daryl, I wanna steal that man) so this is something I wanted to do. It'll be more comedy and gore than the typical romance walking dead story.  
Sooooo, leave a review, follow and favorite. Again I apologize this is so short! Expect more out of me sometime soon!


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